Overview Of Metabolism

Metabolism is a series of complex bio-chemical reactions by which food is transformed into energy and by which our bodies require to function. Metabolic rate, to put it very simply, is the amount of energy (also called calories) our body needs to do some of the basic functions even when you are sleeping. This includes maintaining heartbeat, the brain, liver, kidney, digestion, and everything else.

The energy or calorie that is burnt by the body comes from the food that we eat, which can be broadly divided into three groups: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. There are many factors which affect our metabolism ranging from our gender, age, body composition, genetics, and others. Of course, some people are born with slower metabolism than others.

Metabolism can also vary with the kind of food that we eat and the kind of physical activity we do to burn all the calories that we have consumed. Some people have a very simplified meaning of metabolism: it influences the way we gain or lose weight. Metabolism is a series of complex biochemical processes which can be divided into two simultaneously-occurring situations: anabolism and catabolism.

While anabolism is involved in creating new cell tissues and its maintenance, catabolism is the process by which complex elements are broken down to make them available to the cell and to the blood. These two processes, which go hand-in-hand, follow a myriad of metabolic pathways where intra-cellular reactions are triggered and accelerated by enzymes.

It is a fact that metabolism decreases with age. This is caused by two factors: elders eat lesser calories than their younger counterparts and exercise less. Though the instances widely differ between the elders who eat well and exercise, it can be said that slowing or dropping of metabolic rate is not an inevitable result of aging.

You can always control the drop in metabolic rate by eating a balanced and nutritious diet followed by adequate physical exercise. Metabolic rate also varies according to gender. Men who tend to have more muscle mass than body fat have higher metabolic rate than women.

If you want to know what the right metabolic rate is for you, you have to find out how many calories you would need as your total daily energy expenditure plan. This is also called the TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure). This is the total number of calories you will burn per day, including all your physical activities.

Knowing this ‘maintenance level’ gives you an idea of the diet adjustments and exercise plan which you have to schedule to maintain the right body weight as well as the right metabolic rate.

Sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, smoking, excessive consumption of fatty foods etc give rise to a disease condition called Metabolic Syndrome. Some of the risk factors identified for Metabolic Syndrome, according to WHO, are obesity, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides.

It is considered that if you have any or all of the risk factors you are highly prone for a heart attack or stroke, which can prove to be fatal. Physical exercise and metabolic rate have a close relationship. According to research, physical exercises may substantially increase the metabolic rate between 6 and 36 hours of the exercise session; and endurance exercises, if done regularly, boost normal activity levels during the rest of the day.

Metabolic rate also has a close relationship with weight gain or loss, as well as with increased risk of cardio vascular diseases. If you consume more calories than you burn, you put on weight; and if you burn adequate calories as you consume, you can retain your body weight.

Uncontrolled obesity, physical inactivity, and over consumption of processed carbohydrates, fatty acids and saturated fats are considered to be predisposing factors for a range of cardiovascular diseases.

There are many foods and dietary supplements, some of them even herbal, which are available in the market to boost metabolism. HGH or human growth hormone is also another hormone therapy which can help people lose weight, without having to do any physical exercise. Of course, doctors’ prescription and monitoring is necessary before going for HGH therapy.